>> get more news from abc news on "good morning america." making news on this monday, september 6th. >> it's the economy. president obama will outline his plans to jump start job growth. is it too little, too late for the democrats? censoring adult services. craigslist bans adult ads but will it have an impact on online prostitution? and no second exits. was steven slater fired from jetblue, or did he quit? good morning, everybody. happy labor day, of course. i'm rob nelson. >> and i'm mike marusarz sitting in for vinita nair. as americans mark this labor day, president obama celebrates with union workers in wisconsin. >> it's the beginning of a renewed focus on the nation's sagging economy from the white house and it comes just weeks

before the crucial midterm elections. emily schmidt is joining us now from washington. >> reporter: rob and mike, good morning to you. here we are the unofficial end to summer, the unofficial beginning to the election season. president obama will begin today in wisconsin, unveiling a plan toe invest more on the infrastructure to help the economy. president obama once predicted a summer of recovery. but on this labor day, with unemployment hovering around 9.6% -- >> jobs are being created, they're just not being created as fast as they need to. >> reporter: -- the president is preparing to pitch a new economic plan, the administration confirms this week, mr. obama will call to extend and expand research tax credits which allows businesses to write off development costs. and he may endorse a payroll tax holiday. >> i think that could be effective and be helpful in the

next 6, 12 months, when the recovery really needs it. i think that would be a boost to the economy. >> reporter: the administration says this is not a stimulus package. republicans say it's a sign of political flailing. >> we always like to see a death bed conversion, but the fact is, if we would have done this kind of thing nearly a couple years ago, we'd be in a lot better shape. like, they're just flailing around. >> reporter: the president's week-long focus on the economy comes less than two months before the midterm elections. looking forward to what congress may progress. >> and you hope that you can throw enough small things at the economy, shoot enough small bullets that you'll do enough to actually be able to win this war against what is a very fragile recovery. >> on wednesday, the president plans to roll out more ideas. he will do so in cleveland, ohio. you will remember that as the same city where last month minority leader john boehner actually called upon the president to fire his entire

economic team. rob? >> emily schmidt in washington. thanks, emily. the stalling recovery has democrats scrambling just ahead of the midterm elections with the house and possibly the senate up for grabs. experts say the democrats are now in triage mode. the party is planning to redirect money to focus on protecting the lawmakers who appear to be in the strong of the position to keep their seats. investors probing the bp oil spill are beginning to look at a key piece of evidence. they seized the damaged well's 300-ton blowout preventer when brought to the surface over the weekend. as matt gutman reports, they'll be trying to figure out why it malfunctioned. >> reporter: like some mangled creature raised from the deep, this million-pound mass of steel could tell the story of what went wrong on april 20th and who's to blame for the worst spill in u.s. history and the deaths of 11 men. >> bringing this to a -- a conclusion for the investigation jo move forward for the families

is a major, major thing for the memory of them 11 men. >> reporter: the busted blowout preventer, or b.o.p., is such a key piece of evidence that the fbi documented every step of its slow rise to the surface. and agents will remain with it even as it's hauled to an ultra secure nasa location. the forensic teams from half a dozen agencies will scrutinize every inch of it. >> that what they'll be looking for is why this last-ditch stopgap measure didn't work. >> reporter: five stories high, the b.o.p. was a series of valves and rams designed to slam shut in the event of a leak, the last line of defense. but as we learned that the blowout center at louisiana state university this is not one failure but a cascade of failures. this was a critical part of the blowout preventer system that should have worked first. now, there are seven other

components, 50 feet high, all of them failed. but there was also human error. over 100 hours of testimony before a federal investigative panel revealed that to save money, bp officials built a flimsier well, and to avoid incriminating themselves, three bp executives have pleaded the fifth. they unhooked the failed b.o.p. and installed a new one. >> we're pleased to to announce with a new blowout preventer on this well, this well does not propose a threat to the gulf of mexico. >> reporter: now bp can complete the final kill of this doomed well. officials say that process can begin next week, allowing the company to move on to its next problem. $18 billion in potential fines. matt gutman, abc news. u.s. troops training iraqi forces in baghdad found themselves providing cover fire during an insurgent attack. 12 people were killed and dozens wounded. but u.s. officials say no americans were hurt.st tim it's the first time americans have been involved in fighting since the u.s. formally ended combat there last month. nato says an american

soldier has been killed in fighting in eastern afghanistan. the death was the fifth among u.s. troops in afghanistan so far this month. this has been the deadliest year for the u.s. military since the invasion began in 2001. officials in earthquake new zealand says they're concerned about flooding during the earthquake. when rain fell, services had been extended for another two days in the city of christ church. officials say they're worried that flood protectors weakened by the quake may not hold. luckily, no one was injured. in guatemala, torrential rains have triggered a string of deadly mud slides. at least 38 people were killed when land gave way burying two buses and several cars. some of the rescuers responding to one slide were trapped when another slide occurred in the same spot. 10,000 people have been evacuated and at least 50 are still missing. people in nova scotia are still cleaning up this morning

after getting battered by tropical storm earl. the storm made landfall saturday, toppling trees. and knocking out power to 250,000 people. earl is being blamed for one death in canada. a man who drowned off halifax. and another storm menacing the gulf coast this morning. right now, a tropical depression off texas that could become tropical storm hermine. it's expected to make landfall in mexico tonight, which means heavy rain and flooding across southern texas starting today. and now for this morning's weather from around the country. severe storms in the nation's midsection. 80-mile-an-hour winds, large hail and the chance of tornadoes and flash flooding. in the twin cities, des moines and omaha. windy from the dakotas and wyoming. light rain in seattle meanwhile, showers in south florida. >> 90s from miami to dallas. 80s here in new york and 78 in boston. 80s in detroit to kansas city, 73 in minneapolis. 60s in fargo, billings and seattle. phoenix heats up to 106.

sacramento, 94, albuquerque, 90. when we come back on this monday morning, restaurants tried to cash in on all you fantasy football players. plus, the white house is ready to roll out another plan to help struggling homeowners. can this one make a difference? and the final exit for jetblue's infamous flight attendant. ♪ [ female announcer ] we've got stains, down to a science. new wisk, with our breakthrough stain spectrum technology targets all the major stain groups like proteins, carbohydrates and oils. its enzymes and cleaning agents tackle a full range of stains. you'll never look at stains the same way again. for a more powerful clean, try new wisk. fight stains with science. when allergies make them itch, don't wait for your pills to kick in. choose alaway,

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the most complete multivitamin for women. it has vitamin d, which emerging science suggests supports breast health, and calcium for bone health. centrum ultra women's. u.s. markets are closed today for the holiday, but overseas stocks are getting a bounce from last week's job

support from the u.s. which was not as bad as expected. tokyo's nikkei average gained 2% today. hong kong's hang seng is higher in late trading. meanwhile in london, the ftse opened higher. the jobs numbers boosted wall street last week. the dow jumped almost 300 po0 nasdaq gained 80 points last week. the obama administration is also launching a major mortgage relief program this week. the plan was first announced in march and is designed to help homeowners who are current on their mortgage payments but still owe more than their home is worth. officials say between 500,000 and 1.5 million loans could be modified through the program. several reports say disger hewlett-packard chief mark hurd may join software maker oracle. it's unclear what his role would be. hurd was forced to leave last month after a sexual harassment investigation revealed he falsified reports.

oracle's board would have to give the okay before hiring hurd. football and food often go together. and restaurants are taking notice lately. many restaurants are launching promotional drives to attract fantasy football players. the offers include not only gift cards but also coupons even free video games. an estimated 20 million people play fantasy football. and restaurant owners say that more fantasy football players are coming out to eat, even as most americans cut back. and "the american" is the number one box office draw this holiday weekend. it took in $13.1 million from friday through sunday. "the american" stars george clooney as the professional assassin holed up in the italian countryside. also "takers" about a group of bank robbers finished second place." mache machete" came in third. when we come back, craigslist cleans up its act, but will it matter? and some holiday eating.

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in the new red bottle of wisk. in stores now! now for a look at your morning road conditions. flooding on i-35 from the twin cities to des moines and omaha. and on i-94 from minnesota that to north dakota. heavy rain drenches southern texas especially on i-10 from houston to san antonio. wet on i-95 in florida and slick around seattle. and if you're flying today, expect airport delays in seattle, minneapolis, houston and miami. craigslist has refused to discuss why it shut down its adult services section of its website this weekend. but the company have been involved in the erotic fight over the adult-themed ads. linsey davis has more on the change that affects craigslist but probably won't do much to end online ads promoting

prostitution. >> reporter: the laundry list of ads found on craigslist is now one item shorter. those seeking adult services on a classic website will find the word "censored" instead. attorneys banned together and wrote a join letter calling for the removal of the section, they accused the site from profiting from the suffering of women and children who continue to be victimized by craigslist. >> over a number of years, we've persuaded craigslist to take action eliminating prostitution ads. >> reporter: craigslist has been linked to many scandals, most famously philip markoff. it's expected to generate a third of the website's total profits. craigslist claims it was created for legitimate adult businesses but critics consider the section a thinly veiled clearinghouse

for prostitution. >> we are looking at craigslist as the walmart of online sex trafficking of minors. it is where the majority of young people we've assisted have been exploited. >> reporter: and abc's david wright recently talked to a 20-year-old who said she was forced to work as a teenage slave for people who advertised her on craigslist. >> a typical ad will say, sexy teen girls, if you want to have some fun, i appreciate 150 roses per hour. >> reporter: we found similar ads on craigslist posted in toronto like this one from busty & sexy. she advertises, "when you come over to my place, you're going to have the good time of your life." craigslist only removed the adult services consent from their american site. that's where we found several posts from people like vanessa rose who wondered where should i post now. craigslist would not release a statement and we could not reach them for comment. we're not sure if the ads are good for good or just for now. linsey davis, abc news,

new york. former jetblue flight attends dant steven slater claims he was not fired but quit his job. he said he was no longer an employee. the flight attendant made a dramatic and, of course, headline grabbing exit from the flight in new york by employing the plane's emergency slide. an incident came after an argument between slater and a passenger on board. the author who moved next door to sarah palin has left town. when joe mcginniss arrived in may he got a pretty frosty reception from the former alaska governor. the palins even built an extension of their fence to block the view of their home. now, mcginnis says he's finished with his research and going back home to massachusetts to write the book on palin. kanye west has issued yet another apology, nearly a year after upstaging taylor twist at the mtv video music awards, the rapper used his twitter account to talk about the backlash.

he suffered after taking the mike in declaring that beyonce should have won instead of taylor. west tweeted that he wrote a song for swift, and he wants her to sing it. after staying away from the spotlight for nearly a year, he plans to perform at the vmas next sunday. time now for sports and a big weekend in baseball. plus a wild finish for the first weekend of college football. here's jonathan coachman at espn news. good morning, as we get into september, all of the baseball races are really heating up. as we heat up, padres, they apparently have cool trying to avoid losing ten in a row. ten in a row. top four, blane richards on mound. tulowitzki. 2-0, rockies trying to hang around for the wildcard. bottom six, miguel tejada crushes that one, into the san diego skyline. we're tied at 2-2. his fifth. top of the six, melvin moore, he's going to single to right.

caeeonzalez always seems to be on base. to tulowitzki. that was the difference. rockies win 4-2, eight straight losses for san diego. giants/dodgers, san francisco. they can climb to within a game of the padres. jonathan sanchez. no hits, nine strike outs. saturday, a two-run-home run, on sunday, he hit another two-run home run. giants win 3-0, they're creeping. they're creeping. how about sunday afternoon, conference usa football. mcneal returning to his alma mater. head coach, final play. dominique davis. it's caught by justin jones. 6'8" inches of him. that's the game-winner. 51-49, five touchdowns for davis, the transfer from boston college. that will do it, i'm jonathan

coachman. back to you guys in the studio. well, she's just 5 feet tall and 105 pounds but she's proven she's big enough to devour the competition. sonya "black widow" thomas -- get this, 181 chicken wings at the buffalo festival in new york yesterday. we're talking five pounds, enough to defeat america's rofe joey "jaws" chestnut. >> of course, his thing is hot dogs. that makes me hungry. you went up against the black widow. >> i did not. no, not nearly -- i did see her in action. it's incredible. well, up next, more stories on "america this morning." don't go far. i had this chronic, deep ache all over --

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stories we'll be watching on this labor day monday. president obama kicks off a new focus on the economy with a speech today before a large gathering of union workers in wisconsin. investigators probing the causes of the bp oil disaster will begin taking a look at a key piece of evidence. their mission, to figure out why the oil well's blowout presenter failed to stop the oil spill. and the marquee matchup of college football is under way tonight. number three boise state

takes on number 10 virginia tech, start time 8:00 eastern on espn. >> should be fun. that time of year. >> we'll be right back. certified to immunize... [ sneezes ] ...and walk-ins welcome everyday, we're making it easy for everyone to get their flu shot, no matter how small their motivation may be. ♪ so stop by and get your flu shot today at walgreens. there's a way to stay well. long summer days, and not enough sleep. what i wouldn't do for a do-over. [ female announcer ] new neutrogena® clinical skincare. exclusive ion2 complex combined with activating cream helps restore collagen depleted skin.

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finally, a back-to-school shopping spree on the house. a bit a reprieve for public school teachers who have long complained about being

underpaid. >> despite their pay checks, most of those teachers have been digging deep into their own pockets for students. but one units has stepped in lighten the load. here's ron claiborne. >> reporter: for school administrators, shrinking numbers mean numbers that won't add up. for daisy, it means students who won't have pencils or paper. . >> through the year, you run out and you don't get more. >> reporter: so caban and thousands of teachers around the world buys more. i zbl i spent about $400 a year. >> out of pocket? >> out of pocket, yeah. >> reporter: after average of nearly $500 a year. but now they are get something help. world vision, a christian humanitarian organization is providing supplies to more than 350,000 students nationwide. everything from highlighters to

erasers to textbooks. >> we try to make connections between donors and people who don't have enough. >> reporter: world vision goes directly to suppliers to get them to donate excess inventory. to companies like staples. the supplies are then brought to one of eight world vision warehouses around the country and then distribute them to this one where teachers shop. >> this will come in handy. >> anytime i find science materials, i love it. >> reporter: all of it free. >> we're happy to receive anything. anything you give them, they are excited about. >> reporter: excited to about learning. and that may be the most valuable thing this program provides. ron claiborne, abc news, new york. >> now, a bit of assistance because of down economy, we know that retailers are offering deep discounts, slashing the prices on a lot of these school supplies, trying to get the merchandise off the shelves and making money to sell. >> so it's still